Teaching

Teaching

Students considering where to study music (especially as an undergraduate) must consider the studio teacher they will be studying with. They must know what they’re getting. With me you get:

An Experienced Performer

With me you're getting someone who has performed all kinds of music at a world-class level. I've been a member of one of the world's great orchestras (Vienna Philharmonic/Vienna State Opera), a member of one of the world's elite jazz ensembles (North Texas One O'Clock Lab Band), a member of two successful and award-winning chamber ensembles (Blair Brass Quintet, UNT TF Quartet), and a soloist who has been featured on major national and international stages.

A Dedicated Educator

being a seasoned performer does not necessarily mean a person is qualified to teach, or that they'll be good at it. In my case, my passion for teaching and my ability to teach is something I've had since the beginning. When I began graduate school with Vern Kagarice at North Texas, he asked me what I wanted to do with my career. I told him then and there that I wanted to do what he was doing. I wanted to teach at a major university and cultivate a performance career alongside that. I left the Vienna Philharmonic in 2012 and moved to Nashville in order to teach at Vanderbilt, thereby fulfilling what was my career ambition all along. I do not do this because I was bored or unhappy in Vienna. I do this because it's what I'm passionate about and it's how I choose to spend the rest of my career.

A Balance of Art and Craft

I am interested in producing musicians who play trombone… Not trombonists who happen to perform music. The successful operation of a trombone does not necessarily translate to communication through music. In everything I teach, the end goal is better musicality, not better trombone-playing. We use the trombone to get to better music-making, not the other way around. That said, the only way to be able to express your musical concepts through your instrument is through diligent pursuit of technical skills. My students are taught to pursue their art and their craft with equal passion, commitment, and hard work.

Individual Attention and Care

It is not my job to produce Jeremy Wilson clones. It is my job to help each student reach his/her goals and become their own artist. I tailor each student’s curriculum to his/her needs, career goals, and learning style. I use every tool at my disposal to create a learning environment where students can become not only world-class musicians, but also healthy men and women of integrity and substance. It is my goal that every student that comes through my studio leaves as a balanced, knowledgeable, capable, expressive, and professional musician. In order to achieve this, my students must have my time and attention, and I take that very seriously. Vanderbilt Trombone Studio members see me multiple times per week through private lessons, performance class, and chamber coachings. I almost always have time for extra lessons, or to be around for audition recordings, or even just to grab a coffee and talk about life.